Former UN envoy to Yemen and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jamal Benomar, has reiterated that the war that was declared by the US-Saudi coalition on Yemen in March 2015, came “at a time when the parties had already reached a consensus on the form of the executive and legislative powers, security arrangements, and the schedule of the transition process.”
“The agreement was on the table,” Benomar said.
In an article published on the Newsweek magazine, Jamal Benomar confirmed that Security Council Resolution 2216 provided a cover for the atrocities that followed, noting that it was a resolution drafted by the Saudis, and quickly carried by the United States, Great Britain and France to a council that is supposed to be concerned with ensuring international peace and security.
Benomar pointed out that “the Western parties that took Resolution 2216 to the Security Council knew that demanding that Ansarullah, which was in control of the most populated areas of Yemen, should surrender to a government living in a hotel exiled in Riyadh, was not realistic nor acceptable.”
“Russia was their concern, however, for they would veto the 2216 resolution, but they were mistaken! Moscow, which felt there was an opportunity as well for them to benefit from trade deals with Saudi Arabia, abstained from the vote, removing the only obstacle left to adopting the resolution,” the former UN Envoy continued.
“Ironically, this impractical decision still constitutes to this day the framework for all mediation processes supervised by the United Nations. An unsuccessful mediation certified by the six years of this war,” Benomar said.
Benomar called for promoting a “new resolution in the Security Council, which provides a different framework for a broad and comprehensive negotiation process that equates all Yemeni parties, including civil actors that have distanced themselves from the fighting, and this framework must include Ansarullah.”
“Despite billions of arms sales to the countries of the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis still control half of the country and continue to advance from time to time,” Benomar said.
Jamal Benomar stressed that Yemenis should be given the opportunity to freely decide their future without interference or coercion from outside forces.
